Out Of Love: Funny Feeling – EP review

Out Of Love: Funny Feeling EP

(Venn Records)

DL | Streaming

Released 16th April 2021

London Punks Out Of Love heralded the coming of their second EP, Funny Feeling with the track Play Pretend in February and more recently with See Like Thru .

Despite being together as a group since late 2019 and unable to perform for the last year, the band have built up a solid reputation. Their debut EP, I Am Not Me, released during the pandemic, was picked up by BBC Radio 1 and Kerrang! Radio as well as a number of publications, and it’s easy to see why. Owing more to Green Day than the Sex Pistols, the group deliver 5 hook-laden tracks in 12 minutes that will have you singing along with the choruses and longing for live gigs and mosh pits.

Opening with the anthemic and in your face Play Pretend and high octane Wishlist, the EP gets off to a cracking start, but it’s with Hello Trouble that it all falls into the place. Clocking in at just 150 seconds, with chiming guitars and harmonies you’re transported to the West Coast and the band’s influences come alive. That vibe continues through the 90 second Dog Daze (the unconditional love of animals) before closing with See Right Thru.

A record about growing up, growing apart, and the struggle of finding out who you are and what you want to be, Funny Feelings charts Rogers’ own war with his mind and mental health, and the way it affects his relationships both with loved ones and himself. Whilst much of the band’s core sound remains unchanged, Rogers is quick to note the increased tempo. “I wouldn’t say the sound has changed too much, but the energy has fully stepped up. Maybe one day we will write a song over 3 minutes,” he laughs.

Whilst the sound is influenced more by bands on the other side of the pond, aesthetically the pink on yellow sleeve calls back to Jamie Reid’s original punk artwork.

Frontman Jack Rogers explains, “I just knew the visuals should be as obnoxious and energetic as the music we are creating! I would love to push it even further for the next record for sure! I’m always thinking of what we can do next, my phone is full of shitty voice notes and written bits with lyric ideas, visual ideas, melodies…that’s what I love about this band, we are always creating something. There hasn’t been a month yet where we haven’t had to think about something creative. I love it and I’m excited for what comes next!”

He’s not the only one.

For more on Out Of Love visit Bandcamp, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

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All words by Iain Key. See his Author Profile here author’s archive or on Twitter as @iainkey.

Source: louderthanwar.com